Goward Portal Tomb

Goward Portal Tomb is also known locally as Big Pat Kearney's stone.
The tombs massive capstone is without doubt the stand out feature of this must see site.

Said to weigh 50 ton this capstone has slipped and now rests on two taller stones.
The capstone is 4 meters long by 3 meters in width and over 1.5 meters in depth.

The tombs chamber is over 2.5 meters in length.

Goward is located in it's own neat enclosure and is the sort of site that makes you want to spend some time when you visit.

Access -  The tomb is just off the main Hilltown to Castlewellan road and has a couple of spots for parking close to the site.

Along with the other great tombs of County Down, Goward is not to be missed.      

Drumbo Round Tower

Drumbo Round Tower is all that remains of an early Christian site, which originally dated back to the times of St Patrick.  

The tower rises to a height of just over 10.6 meters.  The doorway is 1.5 meters from ground level (which is very low for a round towers doorway).

Inside the tower, beam holes are visible indicating that the towers floors were of timber.

Records show the tower was severely damaged in the 11th Century.

Restoration work has been carried out on the tower with the top rebuilt in the 18th Century.

Access - The tower can be found within the grounds of the local Presbyterian church.
Parking can be found within a short walk to the graveyard and tower.

Antrim Round Tower

Antrim Round Tower is an impressive 28 metre tall tower that is dated around the 10th Century.     
The tower is known locally as The Steeple. 
The doorway is over 2 meters from ground level.
Above the doorway features a carving of a Celtic cross (image 3).

The site is all that remains of a monastic settlement which dates as far back as 495 AD and is said to have been founded by St Aeibh. 

The Annals of the Four Masters report that the site was destroyed in 1018 and burned in 1147.

The area was landscaped during the 19th century and parts of the settlement were demolished and cleared away.

The  surrounding area was turned into a private Demise and repairs were carried out on the tower at this time.

A large boulder is known as the Witch's Stone, it has two bullauns and lies approximately 6 meters from the tower

Access  - The tower is located in parkland that can be accessed from Steeple Road.

Moyry Castle

The very striking ruin of Moyry Castle is a must see if you find yourself visiting any of the many sites in County Armagh.
The castle was built by Lord Mountjoy in 1601.
The castle had great importance as it was built to help oversee and secure the ancient route between Leinster and Ulster.

Among the features of the castle are rounded corners, many gun loops and a drop hole positioned above the doorway.
The walls of the castle are over a meter in thickness with the only remaining part of the outer wall close to 3 meters in height.

The inner of the castle is a shell with no sign of a stairway.

Access - The castle is very visible as a result of being built on a hill.
Parking can be a bit tricky as the surrounding roads are quite narrow. 

 

The Kilnasaggart Pillar Stone

The beautiful inscribed stone of Kilnasaggart can be found in a very quite and peaceful hedged enclosure.

The stone is over 2 meters in height and is said to be one of the oldest inscribed stones in Ireland.

There are a total of 13 crosses on the stone's faces and it carries the inscription (roughly translated to be) "This place bequeathed by Temoc, son of Ceran Bic, under the patronage of Peter, the Apostle".

The death of Temoc is recorded around 714 which would date the stone in the early 700s.

Excavations of the site in the 1960s uncovered a number of stone built graves close to the stone, the enclosure has many of these stones lying around.

Access  - The site is a short drive from the Jonesborough exit from the N1.
Parking can be found at the cattle gate.
You will have to walk through two fields to reach the enclosure (cattle may be in the fields). 

Annadorn Dolmen

The romantic in me would prefer to call Annadorn a portal tomb.
This is said as the evidence of what the site was would seem to make a better case for Annadorn originally being a passage tomb. There is a written account of a visit in 1802 that states that the site of Annadorn formerly sat beneath a large rectangular cairn over 18 meters in diameter and was approached by a lintelled passage.

What you can see today is a large impressive cap that sits on a rectangular chamber of many small stones with three large side stones that can clearly seen (even when the grass is overgrown).

Annadorn (which is signposted) is located a short drive from the A2 road.
Although the sites enclosure is on a bad bend on the road, parking can be found quite close leaving you a with a small climb up the steps to the site.

Kilkeel Portal Tomb (The Crawtree Stone)

Ever since seeing Kilkeel Portal Tomb on Jim Dempsey's great web site Megalithic Ireland it has been on my wish list. So making a slight detour on my way to work last week brought me to Kilkeel and this tomb did not disappoint.

The tomb as you first see it from the lane way looks like it is trying to escape and has got stuck on the banked wall.

The capstone is an impressive 2.5 meters in width and over 0.5 of a meter in depth.
The two portal stones are 1.3 meters in height and just under 1 meter in width.
The side slab stones are 1.5 meters in height and over 1 meter in length.

The stone at the front of the tomb and the newish looking boulder at the back do not belong to the original tomb.

Access - The tomb is just off the main street in Kilkeel, park in the Asda car park and walk up the lane way you will see the back of the tomb on your left.  

Inch Abbey County Down

The vast ruins of  Inch Abbey can be found on the north bank of the Quoile River.
The Abbey was founded by John de Courcy in atonement for his destruction of Erenagah Abbey.

The abbey was colonized by monks from Furness Abbey, England in 1187.
What remains of the abbey shows a typical Cistercian layout with the shape of a large cruciform architectural plan.
The Abbey is built on the site of an earlier pre-Norman church called Inis Cumhscraigh.
Vikings plundered the site in 1002 and again in 1149.
Some of the original large earthworks which survive  can be seen today from the air.

What remains of the abbey today are buildings that are dated mainly from the late 12th Century and the 13th Century.

Other well known sites that are linked with John de Courcy include the castles of Carrickfergus and Dundrum  along with Grey Abbey.

Access - The abbey is well signposted from Downpatrick.
Parking is available for several cars close to the abbey.
Expect to make a furry friend or two while at the site as the grounds around the abbey are very popular with dog walkers.

Legananny Portal Tomb

One of Northern Ireland's most famous megalithic sites is County Downs Legananny Portal Tomb.

This really has to be one of the most striking tombs I have ever seen with the Mourne mountains providing a superb backdrop.

The tripod tomb has a long narrow capstone which is over 3 meters in length.
The front two portal stones are 1.8 meters in height and the back stone is over 1 meter in height.
One of the front stones has an L shaped cut from the top of the stone (which is thought to be original).


Some stones remain around the base from what would been a more extensive cairn.
The name Legananny comes from "Aines standing stone" Aines being an Irish goddess.

Access - The site is signposted from the A50 Castlewellan to Banbridge road.

Parking for a couple of cars is available and leaves you with a very short walk to the tomb.

















  

Greengraves Portal Tomb aka The Kempe Stones

This was my second attempt to visit the superb Greengraves Portal Tomb
(also known as) The Kempe Stones.
The first attempt failed due to roadworks on the A20 close to the tomb.

My excitement at finding the site was somewhat overshadowed with finding the tomb close to being overgrown on one side with very tall nettles and other weeds.
The overgrown side would seem to be part of a lane/walk way that brings you to the tomb.
This is very much not in keeping with how you normally find Heritage sites in Northern Ireland. 

The tomb's impressive main capstone rests on two large portal stones, a smaller capstone sits at the back.
Everything about this tomb is just perfectly proportioned.
This is a site with real presence.  
The tomb rises to over 3 meters.
On the ground is evidence of what was once a cairn (a few loose boulders).

The chamber of the tomb was excavated in 1830, human bones were found.

Access - I came at the tomb from the A20, drove very slowly down Greengraves Road and spotted the tomb on my right at the end of a field.

What I did not spot was the bull in next field who had access to an opening into the tombs field.
This brought about the lead shot as yours truly took to the higher ground to avoid said bull.  

Devenish Island Monastic Settlement (damhinis island of oxen)

   
Located in the southern part of lough Erne is the stunning Devenish Island Monastic Settlement.

To say Devinish had been on my wish list for a long time would be a huge understatement.
Once I saw images of a complete round tower and the remains of another Devenish went to the top of my wish list.

So at the end of last summer and the start of a family holiday in Donegal (with a slight detour ) we found ourselves standing at the pier for the island. £10 for the Mulraney gang (outstanding value) and we were on our way.

The first thing that strikes you is how large the settlement is ( roughly 70 acres ) and apart from the round tower this site really has so much more to offer.

The Devenish Island monastic community was founded in the 6th century by Saint Molaise

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

//www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

roughly 70 acres

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

roughly 70 acres

Read more at: http://www.chooseireland.com/fermanagh/devenish-island-monastery/

Devenish was founded in the sixth century by Saint Molaise.
The Annals of Ulster record that in 836, “all the churches of Loch Erne, together with Cluain Eois and Daimhinis (Devenish Island) were destroyed by the gentiles (Vikings).” The monastery was rebuilt after these invasions.

The island was attacked again by the Vikings in 1157 and again in 1360.
The round tower is dated between these two attacks.
The five stories high round tower is an impressive 25 meters and can be climbed to the very top.
Located beside the tower is the base of a second round tower, information on this second tower is hard to come by. 

The site also has a 13th Century high cross that has some beautiful elaborate carvings.
Apart from the tower and high cross the site has a 15th Century Augustinian Priory of St Mary (second image).
The bottom image is of Teampull Mor, The Great Church which dates from the 13th Century.

Access - The Island is well signposted from Enniskillen, further information can be found Here.